Last Friday’s “Wall Street Journal” carried my review of a new memoir by Nancy Shear: "I Knew the Man Who Knew Brahms." Its central topic is Leopold Stokowski, whom Shear knew intimately for decades. I write in part: One of the most annoying claims ever uttered by a symphonic conductor came from the lips of Riccardo Muti in 2017. “The level of orchestras in the world has … [Read more...] about Remembering Leopold Stokowski
Uncategorized
Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
In the wake of the death of the pianist Alfred Brendel on June 16, I notice a sharp uptick in viewers of my 2016 "Wall Street Journal" review of Brendel's collected writings, my main interest being Brendel and Franz Schubert. I reproduce an excerpt from my review below. You can read the whole thing here: In the Schubert essays here collected, Mr. Brendel hones a metaphor … [Read more...] about Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
Rediscovering Harry Burleigh — via Sidney Outlaw
When my wife and I heard Sidney Outlaw sing Harry Burleigh’s “Till I Wake” a few years ago, we both discovered ourselves weeping. The song was not new to me – but Sidney’s performance was a revelation. Not long after, he recorded “Till I Wake,” with the pianist Warren Jones, in concert at the Brevard Music Festival -- and it’s now on youtube (above). Burleigh is a … [Read more...] about Rediscovering Harry Burleigh — via Sidney Outlaw
Will Europeans Curate Our Receding Cultural Past?
My 2022 book Dvorak’s Prophecy has just been published in German (by Wolke Verlag) with a new Foreword for German-language readers: “The European/American Transaction.” I take note that the recent Charles Ives Sesquicentenary “was mainly celebrated in Europe”; that it is in Europe “that every city boasts a jazz scene engaging Americans who cannot find American gigs beyond a few … [Read more...] about Will Europeans Curate Our Receding Cultural Past?
Combating American Isolationism with Cultural Diplomacy
My unforgettable experience touring South Africa with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and their conductor Kenneth Kiesler is the topic of my most recent NPR feature and also of three previous blogs in this space. (Above: Karen Slack singing "My Man's Gone Now" in Cape Town, photographed by Patrick Morgan.) Today, “The American Scholar” publishes my further … [Read more...] about Combating American Isolationism with Cultural Diplomacy